One-third of long-term unemployed youth 'simply resting at home'

Over one-third of young college-educated individuals who had been unemployed for more than three years said they were not seeking employment or related vocational education because they were "simply resting at home."

Young people consult job professionals at a job fair in Busan. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Over one-third of young college-educated individuals who had been unemployed for more than three years said they were not seeking employment or related vocational education because they were "simply resting at home."

Statistics Korea released further details of a survey conducted in May on Thursday. This data showed that 238,000 young people aged between 15 and 29 had not been employed for more than three years, marking the highest figure over the past three years. It also indicated that over one-third of these individuals had little interest in job searching, training or recruitment processes.

The most cited reason for such disengagement was that the individuals were "simply resting at home" at 34.2 percent, followed by preparing for tests, caring for children or doing household chores, and studying for further education.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of such individuals who cited "simply resting at home" as the reason stood at 54,000 in 2018 and 64,000 in 2019. This figure peaked at 96,000 in 2021, then gradually decreased to 84,000 in 2022 and 80,000 last year before increasing again to 82,000 in May of this year.

The survey also revealed a correlation between the duration of unemployment and the likelihood of individuals citing "simply resting at home" as their reason for disengagement. Among those unemployed for less than six months, 20.5 percent picked this as the reason. This rose to 26.4 percent for those unemployed for six months to a year, 30.3 percent for those unemployed for two to three years and 34.2 percent for those unemployed for three or more years.

Meanwhile, the government has announced its plans to encourage young people to enter the job market and support isolated and reclusive youth to tackle youth unemployment.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]